Fat Charlie

I just got in the habit of flicking the handle back while lifting the hatch.

My dome light and backup lights were gone. The shop spliced and wrapped, everybody's happy.

Greater. The immobilizer isn't disabled, just rendered moot. It's working exactly as designed, checking that there's a properly coded transponder chip nearby. It's just that now there's always a properly coded transponder chip nearby, because you installed one. It's not a security feature any more, even though it's working perfectly well. On the plus side, you can use cheap $5 keys now.

At 7:10 I passed a red LGT sedan on Rte 16 southbound. It was in the four lane stretch just past the Gosling Road exit, and I tooted and waved as I went by. I actually hope you're not here, because it'd embarassing to see one of us sitting on his ass in the far left lane like that. We're not supposed to be the ones obstructing traffic!

The recall is posted at the beginning of this thread. Read it. There's nothing wrong with the fans, but with the fan control circuit in the ECM. Your issue is with fans, but not as a part of this recall.

I get that question a lot. I just shrug and say they're different part numbers for different applications. Maybe some tuner might know how they're different. Anyone? Mmmmmm... Turbo MT wagons.

It's not a spec thing, it's a model year and whether you've got an OB or Legacy thing:

Friday afternoon I saw a tan OBXT on Rochester's silly little interhange system between Rte 16's exit 16 and Rte 125. He was stopped on the shoulder and on his cell. I pulled over and got out, but had only just made it past my rear bumper before he signaled that he was okay with waves and thumbs-ups. Normally when I see someone stopped and on the phone, I just assume they're going to be fine. For one of us, though, it would have been cool to help resolve things more quickly. Anyway, if you're here, I hope your help showed up quickly.

It's not about swapping the relay. The labor op has two steps- 1 is to swap the relay and 2 is to check that the fan circuit on the ECM is operating properly. If they only do it halfway, the recall hasn't been performed. If you buy your own relay after the recall came out, there's no way in hell you're going to get reimbursed for it and the recall will still have to be performed.

Silver sedan with a paper rear and AMD front plate southbound past the Rochester tolls tonight maybe 5:15.

Do I take the same Route 16 that you guys do?

Me likey.

What can Brown do for you? You guys are going to get me in serious trouble with my wife eventually. The sooner, the better!

Backordered doesn't mean that the parts don't exist. It usually means that the referring warehouse has nore orders than inventory. They're trying to get caught up and might refer your order to another warehouse or might sit on your order for a day or so because they know that they have more coming in. Best case order- the warehouse has it. Next best case order- a warehouse farther away will ship it. Best case backorder- "in transit," where the warehouse knows it has some inbound and waits for them. Next best case backorder- there aren't any in the pipeline, so your order gets referred to a warehouse that has the part. Next worse case backorder- every warehouse has backorders, but the pipeline can largely keep up with demand (it just can't maintain warehouse inventories). Worst case backorder- "intergalactic," where every warehouse has backorders and the pipeline is dry. The word "backorder" covers a lot of ground, and a recall makes for a sudden spike in demand for a part. VOR isn't an overnight shipping order. Ordering something overnight means that some warehouse has it and you're willing to pay through the nose to get it shipped overnight. VOR means Vehicle Off Road, which is a high priority order for a backordered part. Unless the first part available is going to your local warehouse anyway, it will involve overnight shipping- it just doesn't mean that the part will be in the day after the order is placed. That can't happen when none of the warehouses have it. To save all that talking, you'll just get told that the part is backordered and you'll get a call when it's in.

That sure as hell simplifies the install. It only leaves the hardest part- screen integration! They seem a little large, but... wow.

Saw a back sedan with a paper plate and a Patrick sticker on the back, moving north out of Portsmouth tonight on 16. It was fun- he didn't know the traffic pattern well enough, but I was in the correct lane at the right time to let him in. Aside from the paper plate, it was easy to tell he was new to the car- it took two sets of flashing high beams and some waving to convince him it was clear to move, and once we were clear of the traffic his cruising speed was kinda slow. We waved when I went by. If you're on here, that was me. Welcome to your new car. You'll enjoy it.

The first rule of backorder: Since you're going to wait anyway, order immediately so you're farther ahead in line. The first shipment(s) might not be enough to satisfy all the demand and the part will still be backordered.

The only part of the ECM that's fried is the fan control circuit. Mine was gone earlier this winter, but I figured a fan motor or two was going to cost a lot less than an ECM. Now that I can have some windows open again, I might have changed my priorities bacause of the noise. Didn't have to because recalls are free!

Silver LGT sedan on Route 16 at Route 153 tonight at 5:20.

Looks like it. Bummer.

Fog lights in the US are generally to warn those nearby that the driver's brain is in a fog. I'll bet they've got their front fogs on, too.

Why would the factory want to inspect recall parts? The whole point of a recall is that they know there's a problem. Even if SOA treats them like normal warranty parts which they may require sent back, they'd have to require all of them sent back to prevent substitutions. That still wouldn't stop all the crooked shops because anyone with a dud old-style relay can fry ECMs at will before shipping them back. It all comes back to how shady the tech and/or shop is. Subaru has had problems with their people being "mod friendly" and is doing what they can to limit it: Dealers and factories are partners in some ways and nearly opponents in others. Waranty work is one place where dealers' interests and factories' interests don't coincide. I read an article back in 03 about a Cadillac parts manager who was checking out the EBay scene. He found someone selling new Cadillac parts on EBay for below dealer cost. He looked into it- I think he bought something, then checked the seller's ZIP code and found only one dealer within 20 miles of it. He contacted the factory and the police. There was a lot of warranty work being billed but not performed and that other dealer was getting too greedy by selling the parts twice. They wouldn't have been caught except for that. Trust can be abused by individuals or in an organized manner. Factories take steps to cut down on it. If I had mods in my ECM that I didn't want to lose, I'd take steps too. Already having a relationship with the Service department would be a good step. Short of that, being on hand and being clear is the best thing you can do. The only guarantee is removing your mods before going in for the recall. I have to repeat that the odds are that there won't be an issue, but...

slim and none. bosco You're an optimist. It depends on how shady the tech and or shop is. In in ideal world, the dealership represents the factory and has its best interests in mind. In our world, the tech gets paid for the hours he punches on (so does Service) and Parts makes markup on what it bills, and replacing the ECM turns the job from one paying 0.2 hours and billing a $0 relay into a job paying 0.5 hours and billing hundreds of dollars in parts. The factory is a captive customer when there's a recall (or a TSB when still under warranty). The people who determine what work needs to be done have a vested interest in doing more work. Very few people are going to bite the hand that feeds them, but you don't know when someone's going to feel the need to nibble on it a bit. It all depends on the shop and the individual tech. SLStormin- The only guarantee is to buy the relay yourself. The most effective way to get the recall done without losing your ECM is to have it clearly written on the RO not to replace it without your authorization, and to be there- not necessarily in the bay with the tech, but at the dealership. The odds are that there won't be an issue, but...

I had a fake spotting this morning. I was in traffic and catching up to a light blue Legacy sedan with a spoiler. I saw it, thought "hey!" and started paying attention to it, looking for details that would be identifiable here. I was almost past it when I saw that it was actually a Camry. I felt like an idiot, but then I started to wish that the wagon wasn't quite so useful- I had almost gotten a sedan- because a FMIC, solid hood and some rebadging would make for the most entertaining set of mods ever.

They already got it. They should have spent $5 trillion and skipped the falling chunks of concrete.